


it's worth it

by justwannabeafangirl



Series: spierfeld week [2]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Canon-Compliant, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate timer Au, Spierfeld Week, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 10:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwannabeafangirl/pseuds/justwannabeafangirl
Summary: "Can I sit here?”Ding.Simon glanced first at the numbers on his wrist, all zeroes, before looking at the source of the voice, his soulmate. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes.It was the boy who saved him from humiliation that day in English class.“It’s you,” Simon said, his breath catching. “You’re Blue.”-or-Simon and Bram + The Soulmate TimerTitle: "Worth It" by Sam Tsui





	it's worth it

**Author's Note:**

> Spierfeld Week Day 2: Soulmate AUs

The numbers on Simon’s wrist counted down as they had for as long as he could remember. He sat in English class, staring at the faintly glowing numbers to distract himself from whatever Mr. Wise was talking about at the front of the classroom. He wondered, not for the first time, who would be waiting for him when the numbers finally reached zero. It wasn’t like he had a type or anything, after all, as sure as he was that he was gay, he’d never had a crush on a boy before. At least, not until Blue.

A smile bloomed on his face as his thoughts returned to the boy he’d been emailing since the summer. It had all started with a post on Creeksecrets, ground zero for Creekwood High School gossip, as he liked to call it. Although, it couldn’t be that bad if it led him to Blue. He rested his chin on his hand, Mr. Wise’s voice only background noise. But that was the thing that confused Simon so much. Since he’d first started talking to Blue, they’d gotten to know each other so well, and Simon had fallen in love with him. Like, hard. Blue was perfect for him, and he would even go far to say that they could be soulmates. Yet the numbers on his wrist still ticked, which they wouldn’t if he’d truly met his soulmate.

_Maybe I have to meet Blue in person for the timer to hit zero_ , he thought suddenly. He glanced around the room, wondering if any of the people there could possibly be Blue.

“Simon?” Mr. Wise’s voice filtered into his thoughts, snapping him back to reality. “Would you like to tell us what symbolism you found on page 37?”

“Uhhhhhh,” His face burned. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

A boy in the front row raised his hand, answering to Mr. Wise’s satisfaction in the softest, gentlest voice Simon had ever heard. Simon sighed with relief as the bell rang, spared from any more humiliation. The boy smiled at him as they walked out of the classroom, turning down the opposite hallway from the one Simon had to use for his next class.

If he wasn’t in love with Blue, he would definitely have fallen for him.

 

———

 

As time went on, Simon talked to Blue more and more and felt closer to him than ever. He’d suggested meeting in person and revealing their identities, but Blue wasn’t ready for that yet. And then there was the constant fear of Martin. Martin, who had found his emails and blackmailed him into making Abby fall in love with him, even though anyone could see that would never happen. Still, it was worth playing along to keep his relationship with Blue secret.

Outside of all of that, rehearsals for _Oliver_ were going well, and despite his small part, he loved every single second of being in theater. The songs, the people he worked with in Creekwood’s theater company, the jokes they made, all of it made the torture of high school that much easier to deal with. Their opening night was coming up, so putting his full focus into rehearsals helped him keep his mind off of everything. Still, between scenes and costume changes, he kept glancing at his wrist, hoping that it would magically switch to zeros.

During one of their Saturday rehearsals, the cast took a break for pizza, and Simon found himself sitting next to Cal Price. They’d never talked much before, but he was really nice and, if Simon was being honest, really, really cute. He couldn’t help staring at Cal’s eyes. They were the most vibrant blue-green he’d ever seen. And then it hit him. Blue-green eyes. Blue’s email address.

Cal was Blue. He had to be. There was no other explanation.

_So that must mean…_ Simon thought, pulling up his sleeve to look once again at the numbers on his wrist. Yet, somehow, every number was decidedly not a zero. He sighed. Either Cal wasn’t Blue, which didn’t make any sense, or the timer wasn’t counting down to the moment he met his soulmate. Simon really liked Cal and really wanted him to be Blue, so it had to be the timer. At least, he hoped.

 

———

 

It was Christmas when the delicate balance Simon was living in collapsed. Martin was fed up with Abby not liking him back, so he took it out on Simon, outing him on Creeksecrets. Blue was away in Savannah, but he still had internet, so it was only a matter of time before Blue found out who he was. Then, a flicker of hope stood out from the despair: maybe then the counter would hit zero. He glanced at it again. Thirty-one days. Thirty-one days until the timer finally hit zero and he’d find out what those stupid numbers meant, and hopefully he’d learn who Blue was, too.

A few days later, Blue emailed him, and Simon’s heart sunk like a stone before he even opened it. This was it. Blue was going to tell him that he couldn’t do this anymore and never email him again. He held his breath as he read, slowly letting it out as he realized that Blue wasn’t saying goodbye at all and everything was fine. He was so relieved that a smile grew on his face, falling once more when he read the last sentence: _Jacques, I’m almost positive I know who you are_.

It was now or never. This was his chance to see if Blue really was who Simon thought he was. He typed out a reply and set his phone aside, returning to his homework for as long as he could. A couple hours later, his phone lit up with a notification. Blue had sent a reply. Simon held his breath again as he unlocked his phone.

When he let it out this time, it was more of a sob than a breath. Cal wasn’t Blue. Blue wasn’t Cal. And he’d ruined everything between him and Blue. His hands shook as he replied, hoping against hope that they wouldn’t lose what they had between them.

Oh, and to make it all even better, Blue was right about who he was. He knew that Simon was Jaques. Which wasn’t a bad thing, it was just different now.

 

———

 

Simon still thought he might have a chance with Blue, that is, until the day Cal told him he was bi and casually mentioned that they should hang out sometime. His heart beat loudly as his love for Blue and his somewhat-of-a-crush on Cal fought in his mind, and he blushed without saying anything.

The truth was, Simon would pick Blue over Cal any day. He was just caught a little off guard.

When he saw Blue’s email later that day, though, he didn’t even know how to react. For some reason, Blue thought everything was working out for him, but nothing was, not even close. And underneath it all, those _damn_ numbers still weren’t at zero. He sent Blue a whole bunch of emails, hoping against hope that he’d receive a response, but it was to no avail. Their relationship, one of love and trust and Oreos, was over.

Simon wondered if he’d rather it never have happened at all than for it to end like this.

He decided he wouldn’t.

If only there was some way to save it now.

Thirteen days until it’s all behind him, for better or for worse.

 

———

 

Finally, finally, finally, the big day arrived.

Simon glanced at the numbers on his wrist, the “days” spot already at zero. He didn’t know whether he was excited or terrified. But right then, he had more important things to think about because that night was opening night for _Oliver_.

As he drove to school, he noticed flyers hanging up around Shady Creek advertising a carnival that night. Simon’s mind immediately went to Blue and his aversion to tilt-a-whirls, and he got an idea.

As soon as he had a break, he logged on to his email account, Jaques’s email account, on his phone and poured his heart out to Blue, his soulmate, ending the message with an invitation to find him at the carnival after the opening performance was over. All that was left to do now was wait, hope for the best, and not totally screw up during the performance.

Only a few hours to go.

The performance was great, and Simon had a blast, but he couldn’t get out of his costume fast enough once it was over. He ran out to his car and drove to the carnival, wandering around and riding various rides, keeping an eye out for people who could potentially be Blue and trying not to worry about what would happen when the timer hit zero. It was definitely happening during the carnival; it didn’t close for another two hours and the timer had a little less than two hours to tick away.

Simon tried not to worry about it all too much, but once the timer had only ten minutes left, he couldn’t focus anymore. With three minutes to go, he decided to ride the only attraction he hadn’t gone near: the tilt-a-whirl.

All hopes of his timer having anything to do with Blue were pretty much gone. At that point, Simon figured the only possible explanation was that his soulmate was the guy operating the ride. Then again, he really hoped not.

Just as the ride’s operator was about to start the last ride of the night (Simon’s timer still hadn’t reached zero, so it wasn’t him, thank goodness), Simon heard someone say, “Can I sit here?”

_Ding_.

Simon glanced first at the numbers on his wrist, all zeroes, before looking at the source of the voice, his soulmate. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was the boy who saved him from humiliation that day in English class.

“It’s you,” Simon said, his breath catching. “You’re Blue.”

“I’m sorry I’m late,” the boy replied. “I’m Bram, and I think this makes us soulmates.” He rolled back the cuff of his jacket to reveal a matching set of zeroes. Simon showed Bram his in response and grinned.

Simon was so glad that he was right about Blue, and even more glad that he didn’t take Cal up on that hangout offer.

 

———

 

As Simon drifted off to sleep that night, he had only one thought in his mind.

Everything he’d been through was worth it for this.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I really love the concept of the soulmate timer (and it's not the first time I've used it for a fic) so I knew I had to use it for today's Spierfeld Week prompt.  
> 2\. This is intended to be canon-compliant, except for the fact that Simon doesn't already know Bram.  
> 3\. Thank you guys so much for all of the love on yesterday's fic!! Every single person who commented requested that I continue it as a chapter fic, so stay tuned for more of that soon : )
> 
> As always, come say hi on my [tumblr](http://justwannabeafangirl.tumblr.com) : )


End file.
